20 Brilliant Ideas for Bookshelves

Take a novel approach to arranging books and accessories.

In the library of this colorful farmhouse, the owners' built-in shelves, covered with photos and prints, become artworks themselves.

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Lucas Allen

Wooden Library

This rustic lakehouse in Massachusetts brings in the outdoors by using bark-on birch trunks to create the table and built-in bookshelves. The owner also added exposed steel piping and factory-style lighting fixtures to balance the warm wood.

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Lisa Romerein

Bookshelves

In this Minneapolis loft, Douglas-fir shelves display books that have been passed down through the owner's family. The gold leaf painting is from Siri Knutson Design Studio in St. Paul, and the wall is painted Ultra Pure White by Behr.

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Miki Duisterhof

Natural Green

The library sofa of this Connecticut farmhouse, a flea-market find, features a mix of muslin upholstery and linen seat covers that lets the book (painted Sherwood Green by Benajmin moore) pop.

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Victoria Pearson

Ikea "Built-Ins"

The "built-in" wall unit of this DIY Wyoming Home is really three $60 Ikea bookcases, tucked under the eaves and finished with trim.

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Mikkel Vang

Double Duty

The tightly packed bookcase in this New York home also serves as the door to a powder room.

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Victoria Pearson

Vignette of Found Objects

Nearly free acquisitions—vintage glass bottles, old clocks and cameras, and architectural brackets—populate the bookcase in this California cabin. White vellum covers books, maintaining the monochromatic vibe of the living room shelves.

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Bjorn Wallander

Trompe L'oeil Library

Deborah Bowness's photo-realistic wallpaper, plus a few actual bookshelves, turns the upstairs hallway of Neko Case's home into a de facto library.

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Alec Hemer

Cool Neutrals

The bookcases in this California home came from the owner's own store, Chateau Sonoma, and hold an array of timeworn books and collectibles.

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John Gruen

Cozy Corner

The living area of this Massachusetts cabin boasts built-in bookshelves that help differentiate this corner from the rest of the room.

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Susan Heeger

Pops of Color

The bookcases in this Northern California home hold treasured finds, including oil paintings from the 1930s, and a midcentury Bulova wall clock.

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Bjorn Wallander

Bold Bookcase

Farrow & Ball's Charleston Gray and a collection of books in muted tones creates a dark and dramatic entrance in this Massachusetts home.

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